


From The Top

by Momokai



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU where the events of Crisis Core never happened, Angeal is the mom friend, Blood, Don't expect rapid updates it's a tumblr thing, Gen, Genesis secretely cares about everything, Hojo and his shitty pets, Hurt Sephiroth, I hurt the ones i love, Injured Sephiroth, Just like that monster, Potty mouthed SOLDIER's, This came out of left field, angst abounds, cross posted from tumblr, lots of blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:47:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6561520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momokai/pseuds/Momokai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sephiroth manages to find himself knocking on deaths door, and the others don’t take that so well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

He didn’t know how it happened.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he’d let his guard down when he shouldn’t have, he wasn’t sure if he’d believed himself safe once he’d taken care of the problem, he wasn’t even sure if it was because he simply hadn’t been paying attention. 

Things like this rarely, if ever happened to him of all people, and maybe he had grown complacent, too sure of himself. Genesis was always telling him his power would fail him one day, not for his lack of skill or ability, no, but for his pride and his arrogance. 

“It’s a long way to fall from the top.” He had warned. 

He knew his body, he knew his limits and he knew himself, so he knew this shouldn’t have happened. This was a fluke, a one off, but it didn’t change the severity of how badly he’d miscalculated. He’d finished off the creature with small effort, an escaped spawn of Hojo’s insanity. It had gotten around everyone else sent to eliminate it, but he’d tracked it down and cornered it. It hadn’t been easy, but it hadn’t been difficult either, and as the mutated beast had evaporated into Lifestream energy, he had dismissed Masamune and made to call in the success of his mission.

He’d seen the second one too little, too late.

Pain had ripped through him when the beast struck, and he’d gasped wetly as he’d been sent tumbling to the ground. The blow had stunned him badly, his ears ringing and vision wavering alarmingly. His left shoulder was dislocated, the odd combination of pain and numbness a give away, it was a problem, because he wielded his blade with his left hand. He could swap, he’d trained himself to be ambidextrous, but his swings would suffer, his right arm capable, but not refined. 

“It’s a long way to fall from the top.”

He’d forced himself to his feet, staggering drunkenly, wondering why his legs were quaking under his weight. There was something wet on his front, making the leather of his harness slide uncomfortably on his aching stomach, but he dismissed it. It had rained several hours ago, and the Slums were covered in puddles from where the water had leaked from above plate. 

The beast, smaller then the first had ambushed him, lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike. That could only mean that it had some form of intelligence, a by product of Hojo’s tinkering most likely. 

His left arm had throbbed dully where it hung limp at his side, and if he’d had the time, he might have popped it back into place himself, but as soon as he’d locked eyes with the beast, it had pounced again.

The wetness on his front seemed to seep down and into the fabric of his pants, making them cling annoyingly, but he ignored it. Summoning Masamune into his right hand, he’d struck, missing as his legs wobbled and the world tilted sickeningly. Something was wrong with him.

“It’s a long way to fall from the top.”

Adrenaline and mako surging in his veins, he’d struck out again, and the second attempt was met with success. The beast collapsed and began to evaporate just as its counterpart had minutes before, and he allowed himself to take stock.

He staggered sideways, good shoulder connecting with a rusted streetlamp, jarring him, but stopping his uncontrolled motion. His breathing was uneven, he hadn’t even noticed. He could feel his hands trembling, and his heart beating against his ribs, each beat timed almost perfectly with the throbbing of his head. The wetness on his front had soaked into his pants, and he finally looked down to see how much filth he was covered in. It took a moment for his sluggish mind to make sense of what he was looking at.

It wasn’t water or filth.

“It’s a long way to fall from the top, and when, not if, you fall, know that it was your own hand that pushed you.”

Red stained his alabaster chest in a macabre work of art, his harness hanging on by a thread, torn nearly in two as the pale skin it should have protected wept thick tears of blood. From his right hip bone to the left side of his lowest rib, the only thing keeping his insides where they should be was the last strap holding his harness in place.

He’d been as good as disemboweled, and he hadn’t even noticed. 

The light pole provided him stability his body didn’t have, but his wound almost seemed to bleed more now that he had noticed it, and his skin started to tingle unpleasantly. A part of his mind whispered that he was going into shock, that the only thing that had kept him upright, the adrenaline, was leaving his system. 

His left arm was still useless, but Sephiroth had enough sense left in him to reach into his pocket with a wildly trembling hand. If he could have, he would have applied pressure with his other hand, but he was limited to just the one arm. He drew out his PHS, fumbling and almost dropping it twice with numb fingers. This wasn’t something he could walk away from without help. His body was in too bad a shape to move. He was also a little afraid that if he did try to walk, his stomach would open up completely.

He trembled uncontrollably, breath a stuttering mess, he could barely breath. Spots were dancing in his vision, and the world felt like it was trying to slide out from under him, but he pushed himself harder into the steel pole, trying to ground himself. 

He managed to hit speed dial on his PHS without dropping it.

“Well it’s about time you rang! I’ve been waiting on you for an hour now!” The cheerful voice of Zackary Fair was almost a heavenly choir right then. He opened his mouth, but it wasn’t words that came out. He choked, blood spilling over his pale lips. “Seph, you ok buddy?” No, no he really fucking wasn’t.

“H-he-” He couldn’t form the words, couldn’t ask for help, trying to move his jaw was like trying to swim through quicksand.

“Sephiroth?” Zack sounded serious now, and Sephiroth would have commended him, but his legs were sliding out from under him, his shoulder slipping from the pole. He heard himself hit the ground before he felt it, and he gasped in agony. “Sephiroth!?” He’d dropped his PHS, fingers twitching uselessly on the ground. The glowing screen was several feet away. The concrete under his cheek was cold, but there was a pool of warmth spreading between him and it. “Hey, answer me damn it! Where are you!?” The other Soldier sounded uncharacteristically frantic. “Shit, Angeal!” It sounded like there were several voices talking through the speaker at once, but Sephiroth couldn’t tell, everything was moving oddly, fading in and out around the edges.

His skin was still prickling, like a hive of bees had burrowed beneath his skin, but he couldn’t muster the strength to move. He knew he needed to, knew he needed to give his location to the panicked voices echoing oddly from his PHS, but he couldn’t, it was hard enough just to keep breathing. 

He didn’t know how long he laid there for, the concept of time meant nothing to him, slipping in and out of consciousness as he was, but he thought it mightn’t have been more then five minutes. It could have been five hours, but he couldn’t know for sure. The call still hadn’t disconnected, the screen still shockingly bright in the gloom of the Slums. 

No one would venture out and find him, it was late, and this side of town was mainly full of empty and abandoned buildings anyway.

A distant rumbling, almost like thunder filtered into his thready consciousness, and he forced the darkness back just slightly by sheer will alone, just enough for him to remain aware for a little bit longer. His heart beat sluggishly in his breast, until soon enough the sound was drowned out by the rumbling, growing louder.

Not louder, no. Closer. 

The screech that followed could have been abused tires, but it also could have been a monster. Right then he really couldn’t have cared less. He dropped out of it for what could only have been a few seconds, but when he could flick his eyes partially open again, he saw light.

That could have been a bad thing, but he couldn’t remember why.

“Oh shit, Sephiroth!” Someone shouted in panic, it might have been Genesis, hell it could have been Hojo for all he could tell, his mind was struggling to pull free of the webs that had began to smother it. 

“Zack, bring the fucking car around!” If he could have, Sephiroth might have blanched, because he was quite certain he’d never heard Angeal swear before. Rapid boot steps approached him, but he couldn’t move to see who it was.

Hands touched him, almost feather light, hesitating in several places before a firmer pair grasped him gently and rolled him over. Someone hissed, and another choked in disbelief, but his eyes drifted shut without his consent. 

“-lost too much blood, he-” 

“-get here-time-”

“Don’t-him close-”

“-awake, Seph-”

Something collided with the side of his face, and the sting barely registered, but it jolted him just enough for him to peel his eyes open again only to be met with a vague and moving red blob. The ground under his head wasn’t quite so hard anymore, in fact it was almost soft. 

“-with me-hey-”

The impact from before repeated, jarring him, and he blinked sluggishly as the red blob slowly cleared, and the upside down and pale face of Genesis Rhapsodos swam into view. He was saying something, looking uncharacteristically frantic. Sephiroth hadn’t even thought the man capable of such an expression. 

“-awake-me?-You have to-damn-iroth, you have to stay awake!” He winced as the words pierced his aching ears, so loud compared to the ringing silence of before. His mouth tasted like copper, and he could feel the sticky remains of half dried blood on his lips and chin. 

“-shock-happened?-shit!-Sephi-keep-thing damn it! Keep bre-”

He was finding it hard to breathe, and there was something pressing hard against his stomach, the ache pounding through his body like a living thing. He knew, in theory that he needed to stay awake, but he couldn’t, the darkness was dragging him back under, and Genesis slapped him again, but it didn’t work this time. Sephiroth apologized quietly in his head, he’d tried. 

“losing him-geal!”


	2. Part Two

Zack sat in Angeal’s apartment, half sprawled on his mentors couch and staring at the ceiling. He was tired, it’d been a long day spent training and running around in the Slums chasing after one of Professor Nutjob’s pet experiments. He’d caught a glimpse of the thing once or twice, but it had been hella fast, and while Zack had been determined to catch the damn thing, he’d had to call it quits and return to the Tower.

Hojo had been adamant that his ‘subject’ be either returned to him or terminated, the man citing that it had been a promising subject and could cause quite a bit of damage if left to its own devices. He hadn’t given much in the way of information regarding its habits or what it could do, big surprise, but he had made it very clear that it wouldn’t be very good if it got away.

Lazard had sent a few teams of Second’s after the thing when Zack had returned empty handed, and a few hours into the search Sephiroth had gotten a little stir crazy in his office and volunteered himself for the mission. 

That had been almost two hours ago, and the Second class couldn’t help but wonder if the man had found the thing yet, or if it had managed to give even him the slip. 

Genesis had arrived to Angeal’s apartment twenty minutes ago, bitching about no one having informed him of a potential mission. He’d been on the Storage level, probably playing with the companies materia stores, as he was prone to do when bored.

His mentor was out on his balcony watering his almost ridiculous collection of potted plants, several of which had been gifted to the large man by the Second’s own girlfriend, Aerith. Angeal had a thing for gardening, always had, said it was relaxing and proved the best kind of distraction on his days off. Zack found it hilarious to watch his mentor geek out about plants with his girlfriend on the occasions he accompanied Zack down to the church. 

Genesis enjoyed sticking his nose up at the various ferns and fruit vines almost completely overrunning the large mans balcony, but did stop to gently poke and prod at the beautiful blooms Aerith had gifted him every now and then. He acted snooty in the face of ‘such a mundane hobby’, but Zack had caught him with the watering can in his hand a few times, the man simply brushing his raised eyebrow off with an elegant snort.

“If the things die, Angeal will be most disappointed.” Yeah, keep telling yourself that Genesis.

The red commander was in Angeal’s spacious kitchen, leaning up against the bench and flipping idly through a food magazine that had been left out. It was almost a sort of tradition for the five of them, Angeal, Zack, Genesis, Sephiroth and Cloud would all pile into someone’s apartment at the end of the week, and they’d all have dinner, alternating who cooked. Angeal was the best cook of them all, with Cloud a surprisingly close second. Cloud’s cooking might as well have been from another planet, but while unusual, it was usually delicious, authentic Nibel fare tended to lean towards rich and spicy. 

Zack couldn’t boil water without setting something on fire and the less said about Genesis in the kitchen, the better. His lack of skills in the culinary arts didn’t stop him from being a pretentious food critic, however. 

Zack jumped when his PHS sprang to life on the coffee table in front of him, the vibration sending it sliding to the side and towards the edge while the ringtone he’d set specifically for Sephiroth sounded out of it. The tune he’d set annoyed the man endlessly, which was all the more reason to make it his.

He heaved himself upright and sat on the couch properly, reaching out to snatch his PHS before it vibrated clean off the edge of the table. He flipped it open and shoved it to his ear with a broad grin.

“Well it’s about time you rang! I’ve been waiting on you for an hour now!” He announced cheerfully as he leaned back into the squishy couch. Sephiroth didn’t respond right away, and Zack thought he could hear someone breathing erratically on the other end. He frowned slightly. “Seph, you ok buddy?” He asked, maybe the escaped monster had hurt someone before the man got to it? The line crackled loudly, as if someone had exhaled right into the receiver. 

“H-he-” It was Sephiroth’s voice, but it was ragged and weak, and Zack bolted upright in the chair, back cracking as it straightened stiffly. 

“Sephiroth?” He tried, but he could only hear creaking leather and ragged breathing, until something cracked and skittered loudly, the jarring sound followed almost immediately by a meaty thud, and Zack would know the sound of a body hitting the floor anywhere. “Sephiroth!?” He called and stood quickly, his eyes darted to the kitchen, where Genesis had abandoned his magazine and was watching him with a frown marring his features. All he could hear was ragged gasping. “Hey, answer me damn it! Where are you!?” He demanded frantically as he waved Genesis over with a jerking hand. There was no response, and he looked towards the balcony doors with a worried snarl. “Shit, Angeal!” He shouted, jumping over the coffee table and sprinting to the half opened door, halting in the doorway with Genesis almost on his heels. His mentor straightened from his crouch beside a rather large and bright green fern, turning a questioning frown at him as he dusted his hands together.

“What’s wrong Zack? You look pale.” He asked concernedly, and Zack resisted the urge to flail desperately as he shoved his PHS at the man. 

“Something’s wrong, I think Sephiroth’s hurt, bad!” He explained in a rush, and Angeal snatched the PHS out of his hand and placed it against his ear.

“Sephiroth, you there?” He asked, and Zack could see the worry on the man’s face deepen in the way his eyebrows pulled down and his lips thinned. “Can you hear me?” He asked, and Genesis shoved his way past Zack to lean his head in next to the larger mans, ear pressed to the back of the PHS’s flip top.

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.” The red head stated as he pulled his ear away and turned to Zack. “Go, get Angeal’s car ready.” The commander ordered, and Zack nodded once and quickly darted back inside, snagging his mentors car keys from the tray by the door before hurtling out into the hall, by passing the elevator and going straight for the stairs, taking them four at a time.

The three commanding First’s had a sort of tracking app on their PHS’s that was connected to the GPS chips in all the SOLDIER’s phones, a system designed for the three highest ranks in the military to keep track of their troops and to aid in individual assignments. It was a system brought into fruition by a guy in Urban Development, and it had saved lives and incriminated idiots ever since. 

Zack hoped, as he shoved his way out into the private garage, that Genesis or Angeal remembered the damn thing and activated the General’s tracker. 

Angeal’s ‘car’ was more of a truck to be honest. Oh sure, it had four wheels and five seats, but it was almost as high as the man was tall, and had all the off road capabilities as a Shinra Unimog. The only thing separating it from being a truck however was the sleek frame and almost luxurious interior. Genesis had helped the man chose it, if it hadn’t been obvious. 

He pressed the button on the keys in his hand and almost pulled the gunmetal grey door off when he yanked it open, jumping into the drivers seat as if his ass was on fire, or one of his best friend’s lives was at stake. The engine roared to life when he turned the key, and he quickly shut the door and put it in reverse, pulling out of the park Angeal had left it in. He pulled up with an echoing screech in front of the stairwell door just in time for it to fly open, and Genesis bolted out and almost ran straight into the rear driver side door in his haste. 

The two First’s quickly piled in, Angeal in front and Genesis sliding himself across to the middle in the back so he could grip the back of the front seats and lean between the aisle. Angeal still had Zack’s PHS against his ear, and he seemed to be keeping up a litany of reassuring words as he used his free hand to bring up the tracking app on his own PHS.

He failed to enter his pass code twice before Genesis reached over and snatched it from him, entering his own quickly. The thing ‘dinged’ at him when it accepted his name and unique code, and a list of names and serial numbers quickly scrolled down the screen. Instead of searching manually, the red haired commander typed in Sephiroth’s name, and sure enough the mans GPS details overtook the screen. Genesis hit ‘Locate’ as soon as it appeared, and Zack put the car in first and began making for the garage exit.

“Got him.” Genesis said, “He’s in Sector Four.” He announced, and Zack quickly turned out onto the road outside, aiming for the Sector Four ramp. The drive was tense, and no one commented on the numerous red lights and stop signs Zack drove through without pause. Angeal had gone worryingly silent, instead he seemed to be listening to whatever was on the other side of the line with rapt attention. 

“Left here!” Genesis suddenly stated, hand pointing from between them and off to the left. Zack turned quickly, almost climbing the gutter in his haste. “Right!” Genesis ordered, and Angeal had to quickly grab the handle above his window when he almost bounced off the door. “Keep going straight.” Genesis continued, and Zack followed his directions until the man suddenly shouted, “Stop!” He slammed on the breaks, locking the wheels with a loud screech of rubber on asphalt. The car jerked to a rough halt, and Genesis was shoving his way out the door before he’d even turned the engine off. They were in the Sector Four Slums, and the last thing they needed was Angeal’s car to get stolen.

“Over here!” Genesis said, already stalking off quickly through a side ally, and Zack followed on his heels with Angeal bringing up the rear. They trailed the red head through three more alleys and a demolished park before the heavy scent of blood hit them.

They rounded a corner and all three SOLDIER’s promptly stopped dead at the sight that greeted them. 

There were a few narrow slices in the surface of the road, from Masamune’s sharp swings no doubt, and several deep claw marks littered the road and cracked sidewalk. There was also a rather alarming red splatter off to the side, arterial spread from a devastating blow. 

Then, almost as one their eyes landed on the crumpled and still form a little further ahead, right next to a dead street light. It wasn’t moving. Genesis dropped his PHS and was off like a shot.

“Oh shit, Sephiroth!” He cried as Angeal chased after him, turning to Zack as he ran.

“Zack, bring the fucking car around!” He ordered harshly, and Zack nodded dumbly as he whirled around and sprinted off as fast as he could. 

…

Genesis Rhapsodos would readily admit to anyone who asked that the General of SOLDIER tended to draw the worst out of him. It was by no conscious fault of the silver haired mans own, it was just that Genesis had a knack for lashing out at those that considered themselves above him. He knew the man didn’t, but his attitude and effortlessness in combat always managed to irk the commander in the worst ways, even if he cherished him as a good friend. 

Seeing him there on the ground covered in blood, pale and unmoving still managed to send his heart plummeting to his boots, regardless. Sephiroth was still his friend. 

He dropped beside the General’s downed form and moved to grab him, but paused uncertainly as his eyes found the ugly tear on the mans stomach, and his hands fluttered uncertainly on his arm and hip. He was laid out on his side, the arm trapped under his body stretched out as if he’d tried to reach for something, and a quick glance showed his PHS a foot away from his limp hand. The other was dropped on the bloodstained ground, shoulder looking wrong, and he realized with a start that it was either broken or dislocated completely while his legs were equally unmoving, one bent at the knee over the other.

His silver hair was blood splattered and strewn around him, wrapped around the column of his neck and bangs hanging in his pale face, the strands fluttering slightly as he breathed shallowly. 

Angeal’s knees hit the ground beside him, and the large man spared barely a moment to glance at him before he gently grabbed Sephiroth’s shoulder and hip, carefully pulling until his body rolled onto its back. His head lolled limply, blood decorating his chin and throat, and Genesis choked slightly as he saw the extent of the damage, Angeal releasing a low hiss as he too noticed. It wasn’t good, fuck, materia wouldn’t do anything for something this serious.

Genesis quickly shuffled over, shaking fingers dipping under his head and lifting until he could slide his thighs under the pool of silver to provide some form of relief from the hard asphalt. Angeal cursed softly beside him as he pressed his gloved hands gently over the gaping wound, fingers carefully pulling the red stained skin together in an effort to close the tear. Sephiroth’s enhancements might have closed the wound over time with such aid, but he would bleed out before that happened, and while his body could recover from blood loss quicker than the average person, even he couldn’t regenerate blood that fast.

“He’s lost too much blood, he’s gonna bleed out soon.” The dark haired First uttered worriedly, and Genesis clenched his teeth.

“Medics won’t get here in time if we call for them.” He hissed, and Angeal’s face darkened as he worked his jaw silently for a moment, eyes raking over Sephiroth’s still form before settling on his face. Genesis glanced down and almost jumped at the slit of cat-like green peeking out between fluttering silver lashes. 

“Don’t let him close his eyes, Genesis!” Angeal hissed sharply. Genesis nodded, he knew that, it was standard field aid to keep the injured conscious for as long as possible. 

“Stay awake, Sephiroth.” He told his friend, who looked on the cusp of passing out completely. He hesitated a moment before sharply slapping the mans pallid cheek. “Stay with me, hey. You have to stay with me my friend.” Silver lashes drifted shut, and Genesis grit his teeth and slapped the man again, harder. He had no idea what expression was on his face right now, but he hardly cared. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when cat-like eyes fluttered open, blinking up at him blearily, pupils contracting erratically as they tried to focus. 

“Stay awake, you hear me?” He told him once the green gaze had settled on his face. “You have to stay conscious.” He continued, but the eyes were quickly losing their focus again, and Genesis cursed. “Hey, listen to me damn it! Sephiroth, you have to stay awake!” He demanded loudly, voice rough. Where the hell was the puppy and the car? They needed to get him to the Emergency ward now. He turned his gaze to Angeal, who was focusing on keeping pressure on the wound.

“I think he’s in shock, what the hell happened?” He demanded rhetorically, before freezing as a rattling breath sounded at his knees. He snapped his eyes back to Sephiroth and felt his heart lodge in his throat. “Shit!” He swore. The General’s chest was stuttering as it rose and fell with slowing breaths. “Sephiroth, keep breathing damn it! Keep breathing, don’t make me give you mouth to mouth!” He threatened, but he knew it would do no good. He turned to Angeal and refused to acknowledge the burning behind his eyes. “We’re loosing him, Angeal!” He hissed, and Angeal could only drop his head and bare his teeth at the blood.

They both jumped as a screech of tires burst into existence somewhere ahead of them, and Genesis looked up to see Angeal’s car bounce over a pile of bricks on the other side of the street. This part of town was abandoned and half in ruin, the roads were less than suitable for traffic, but the larger mans car was just about all terrain, and Zack used that to his advantage, mounting the curb easily to avoid a fallen street lamp.

The car pulled up alongside them with a whine of abused breaks, and Genesis carefully helped Angeal slip his hands under Sephiroth’s still form. Zack darted around from the drivers side and opened the rear passenger door for them, rushing to help them lift the General from the blood stained road. 

It was difficult and had to be taken slow, lifting a man with his insides threatening to spill out was not an experience Genesis would like to repeat, ever. 

Once they got him to the door, Genesis slipped in backwards and carefully pulled his limp friend in after him, sliding back until his shoulders were pressed into the opposite door, Angeal and Zack levering the General’s body through the doorway until he was laid out on the seats with his head and shoulder’s in the commanders lap. The door slammed shut once his boots were clear, and this time it was Angeal who climbed into the drivers seat, Zack jumping over the hood of the car to quickly pulled himself into the front passenger seat.

Genesis could feel hot blood soaking into the fabric of his uniform, and cursed as he gripped Sephiroth tightly. “Move it!” He snarled, and Angeal shoved the car into first gear and slammed down on the gas. If Zack’s driving had been determined, Angeal’s was worse, the man didn’t even hesitate to mount curbs and drive straight through old rusted out gates. 

The red commander did his best to keep the man in his lap as still as possible as the car bounced along the road, but his arm still slid off the seat to drop into the foot well. They’d arrive in time, they had to, Zack was already calling ahead, speaking in rushed tones as he demanded they be ready for them, and gave a rough description of the General’s injuries. 

He ripped a glove off with his teeth, spitting it out to the side uncaringly as he pressed bare fingertips to the General’s throat, keeping them over his weak pulse. 

“Almost there, Sephiroth, just hang on a little longer.” He breathed.

Almost as if to spite him, the weak beat under his fingers stuttered and ceased.


End file.
